Monster House: Classroom Chaos
by BuddingFabricator2
Summary: It's been two years since the events of the movie, and DJ has settled into his life as a freshman in high school. But as they say, adventure is always out there, you just have to go looking for it. Well, in DJ's case, it just might find him and his friends yet again...
1. Introduction

_A/N: Monster House does not belong to me. I figured I should open with that. But now that that is out of the way, hello! My name is BuddingFabricator, and have decided to try my hand at writing stories using the wonderful tool of Fanfiction. Monster House was always a favorite of mine, so I thought this should be my first story. If you like, hate, or otherwise feel any emotion towards what I write, please don't hesitate to let me know what you think so that I can improve my writing for you! I'm excited to begin! Let's go!_

Monster House: Classroom Chaos

The morning sun cast its rays on the suburban street, making the trees appear to be ablaze as the light struck the already bright orange leaves. Even so, a cool Autumn breeze blew through, keeping the temperature slightly cooler than average. Such conditions were to be expected in mid-October, and many of the leaves had already begun to shed their leaves. One leaf in particular had just fallen from the branch it had spent its summer on, and it began to drift lazily towards the sidewalk below. Just as the leaf was about to land, a bicycle sped by, exciting the leaf and many others into a frenzied dance across the sidewalk. The cyclist herself paid them no mind as she continued on through the street. She had a job to do, and that job allowed little time to care about the many leaves she rustled in her path. This was her first week of being assigned her new paper route, and she was determined to make a good impression on her customers.

The young cyclist continued down the street, slowing her pace only slightly at each house to ensure that her throw was straight and that each paper landed squarely on the porch of each house she targeted. As she rode, the young girl couldn't help but notice how identical each house was that she passed. The houses almost seemed to fit snugly next to each other like bricks in a wall. Suddenly, the girl pressed her brakes hard and skidded to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. Placing her right foot down for balance, she gazed across the yard in front of her. The yard was nearly identical to every other yard on the street, with only one rather large exception: There was no house in the yard. Where the house should have been, there was a large hole, as though there HAD been a house there once, but someone had just plucked it right out of the ground.

The young papergirl remembered that there had indeed been a house in that yard once, and she remembered it vividly. The house was not like any of the others that had been there before. Rather than be symmetrical to its ornate counterparts that lined the street, the house had been constructed like a cube with no distinct features. It was as though the architect cared little for its outward appearance and only wanted to build as bland of a house as possible, though the house had been far from mundane. It had been built entirely from wood instead of utilizing the more common, brightly colored siding favored by homeowners. Over time, the wood had decayed and lost its color, giving the house a very old and creepy sort of feel to the adults who observed it. To the children however, the sense of creepiness had been multiplied tenfold by the stories of the house and the resident within. The girl remembered the chills she would always receive when passing by, and as the thought entered her mind she felt an unbidden shiver crawl up her back to her shoulders. The owner of the house had been none other than Horace A. Nebbercracker. The neighborhood's crabby and even spiteful old man.

Old man Nebbercracker had lived in that house longer than most people on the block could remember, and no one except Mr. Nebbercracker himself had seen the inside of his house. In fact, few had ever set foot in Old man Nebbercracker's yard. Nebbercracker always did his best to keep everyone and everything off and as far away from his property as possible. The adults kept their distance due to the signs he had posted. Signs to "BEWARE" and "KEEP AWAY". The children kept their distance due to the numerous rumors that surrounded Nebbercracker in his house. Some said he kidnapped children and forced them to make him Tapioca in his basement, others said that Old Man Nebbercracker was secretly an alien and that the house was his poorly disguised spaceship. The most common and widely accepted rumor surrounding Old Man Nebbercracker was that of his supposed wife. According to the myth, he was once a married man, but only kept her around until he fattened her up enough, and once she was ripe for plucking, Old Man Nebbercracker ate her for Thanksgiving Dinner. No one possessed any evidence that the rumor was true of course. But enough people believed it, therefore it might has well have been fact. Because of that, most youngsters kept well clear of Nebbercrackers property, but sometimes baseballs would get hit over the fence, or stuffed animals would blow into his yard, and seconds after they appeared, so too did Nebbercracker to claim them. Almost every child on the block had lost one of their prized toys to Nebbercracker, the young papergirl herself had lost a tricycle to Nebbercracker close to two years ago.

As the girl remembered her tricycle, her thoughts were brought to the events that occurred shortly after her beloved tricycle had been lost to the clutches of Nebbercracker. She lost it the night before Halloween, and on Halloween night, the house was gone. It had disappeared without a trace. Most of the neighborhood had gathered at the town hall to have a pre-trick-or-treating safety brief which had been basically mandatory unless the parents were enthused with being berated by the city council for the next year. When the meeting had adjourned, the girl had been ecstatic to finally begin her conquest for candy. She knew that that skipping Nebbercracker's house was a no-brainer, but when she walked up to his yard, the house was missing. And what was even more appalling was the long line of trick-or-treaters walking up the drive. Confused and curious at the same time, the girl had walked up to the front of the line to see three big kids and Nebbercracker himself handing out toys to the eager children. When it was the girl's turn, instead of opening with the signature "Trick-or-Treat!" to the big kid in front of her, she instead blurted out the question pressing on her mind:

"What happened to Nebbercraker's house?"

The big kid turned to look behind him, as if confirming the house wasn't there, then turning back around and saying, "It turned into a monster, so I blew it up."

Immediately more questions had flooded the girl's mind, but the answer had seemed straightforward enough to her, so she had shrugged and fell back into her trick-or-treating routine.

That night the young girl had been reunited with her tricycle, and shortly afterward Nebbercracker had moved down the block into a much more comfortable looking house. The change of scenery had seemed to improve Mr. Nebbercracker's demeanor, and after that Halloween he had changed from crotchety old dude to happy old pappy. No more malicious signs littered his lawn, and he seemed to gain a tremendous amount of energy, which he used in creating a small garden that soon flourished into one of the most beautiful gardens in the neighborhood. All in all, everything had turned out for the better…

 _A/N: And so there is the first chapter! Again, please don't hesitate to let me know what you think. I'm always looking for tips to improve my writing. Also please come forward with any scenes or stuff you'd like to see put into the story. I love feedback! Hopefully posting again soon!_

 _-BuddingFabricator_


	2. Walk to school

_A/N: Here is the next chapter! I'll do my best to publish them in a timely manner, but my schedule is so crazy that it may be a while between chapters. Thanks!_

The girl was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of a door opening behind her. Turning over her shoulder to look, she saw a big kid step out of the house across the street with a black backpack hanging lazily off his right shoulder. As the door closed behind him, the big kid looked up and made eye contact with the girl. The both stared for a moment before the papergirl gave a quick wave and pushed off down the street again to continue her route. The older boy gave a light wave back and watched her go for a minute before he heard muffled voices behind him in the house.

"Maybe you should have driven him to school…"

"Honey would you please stop worrying about me spending time with DJ? We just played 1 on 1 yesterday."

"Oh, I hope he's eating enough. I should have packed him some extra carrots…"

"Catherine, would you please stop hovering around him like that? He's having enough troubles trying to meet girls without you babying him all the time?"

"I've never seen him try talking to any girls before honey, he only spends time with Chowder…You don't think that maybe…?"

"With Chowder? Please. That's not happening."

"Not that there is anything wrong with that! He's more than welcome to experiment if he wants…"

"Sure, but with Chowder? Give me a break…"

DJ sighed and shook his head as he started down the street in the opposite direction of the papergirl. Kicking a pebble down the street as he walked, DJ thought about what his mom had said.

'…He's more than welcome to experiment if he wants…'

DJ couldn't help but tilt his head back in exasperation. His mother was always finding some new way to fuss over DJ weather is was his clothes, his hair, his choice in food… there was always something. Sometimes DJ would find it almost humorous to see what thing she could fret over next.

But DJ's dad did have a point, sometimes his mother would worry over issues that weren't even there. She would always worry if DJ was making new friends and staying social, but in all honesty, DJ was doing just fine.

The more DJ thought about it, the more he realized that he didn't really get put in a "group" in his high school. He certainly wasn't popular, but he wasn't an outcast either. He wasn't super smart, but he wasn't a dunce. He wasn't cool, but he wasn't lame. And for that reason, he was never really in a group. He was always with Chowder, of course, but that's all they were, just him and Chowder.

Two years ago, was quite a different story. No one would even dare associate with the kid who watched old men through his telescope all day and his chubby sidekick. But ever since the two had 'saved Old Man Nebercracker from a gas explosion', the two had received a newfound silent respect from their peers. They weren't the creeps of campus anymore, they were the 'young justice the town never saw coming'. DJ couldn't help but chuckle at the title.

The names were even weirder than the fifteen minutes of fame that came with saving an old man's life. And to boost their status even further, many reports came in claiming the two of them had been fraternizing with the two-time class president of Westbrook Preparatory school. DJ grinned yet again remembering the whispers and silent awe he and Chowder had received as they traversed the halls. Eventually, their slight stardom faded away, but the silent respect remained. No one regarded them as lower class and even treated them as equals when the situation merited it. Even the local bullies left them alone for fear of being shamed by what few friends they had.

DJ regarded the whole ordeal with what he had hoped was careful humility, trying not to let the whole situation go to his head for fear of losing their newfound social status. Chowder had attempted to do the same, but DJ noticed the slight swagger to Chowders movements and the ever so subtle raising of his chin as they moved from class to class. DJ new Chowder wouldn't be able to help it, and to be honest he sometimes had trouble fighting the urge to slip into a saunter with his caped companion. Jenny would've just rolled her eyes at their lack of celebrity composure.

Jenny.

DJs thoughts yet again shifted, this time to the third member of their clique. After the 'gas explosion', Jenny, Chowder, and DJ began to do everything together. Whether it was seeing a movie, riding around town on their bikes, even attempting to even get half as much as Skull's Thou Art Dead high score. DJ and Chowder were both aware of each other's small crush on Jenny, but they had reached a silent agreement to let her decide between the two of them.

At first, DJ was sure that Jenny would pick him (due to their little moment on the crane), but he wasn't so sure when Chowder had proudly (and most dreamily), announced to him that she had grabbed his butt. As time went on, however, Jenny didn't seem to pick either of them, and the boys just got used to their weird static relationship.

Things changed slightly when high school began. Jenny was now a proud honor student of Westbrook high (Go Dynamites!). The combination of her studies and the high school being across town had made their get-togethers more and more of a rarity. In fact, DJ hadn't seen Jenny in almost two months now. They all understood, but sometimes DJ could tell that Chowder missed Jenny a lot. And he couldn't blame him. He did too sometimes. Without the three of them together, their lives slowly began to become more and more dull. Boredom seeped into DJ's being like water into a sewer. And he almost wished that he again lived across the street from a crabby old man and his murderous belligerent house.

Shaking his head to bring himself back to the present, DJ checked his watch and started when he realized he would be late if he didn't pick up the pace. Quickly shouldering both back pack straps, DJ began a rigid power-walk down the street. He breathed in deeply, hoping that something would happen to make this day even remotely exciting.

 _A/N: There's chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed._


	3. Class Time

_A/N: Here we go! Also, do I need to but a not claiming that I don't own anything at the beginning of each chapter? That's silly. But maybe I'm just lazy. Anyway, Chapter 3 is now here, with a few more familiar faces to see again. Enjoy!_

Finally arriving at the steps of Maryville High School, DJ spared a glance at the school motto which hung indifferently below the name.

"Maryville High School, here to help young minds to take the first step in leading, and succeeding!"

Sure, it was a dopey slogan, but when the PTA loved it, there wasn't any room for argument.

DJ then found his attention diverted toward the small gathering of students off to the right of the main entrance. Meandering over and using his natural lankiness to crane his neck above the small circle that had formed, DJ was mildly shocked to see what appeared to be a small memorial erected on the grass. Small candles and incense had been placed in a somewhat decorous fashion on a dark red table cloth while 7 variously sized pictures all stared back at DJ from their position on the ground.

From what DJ could tell, all of the people in the pictures were all high school aged, and all of them appeared to be on the younger side, freshmen like him. Around the pictures, students spoke softly to themselves or bowed their heads in a moment of respectful silence. As DJ observed the pictures, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were observing him too. Their eyes seemed to follow his every move. DJ thought about inquiring about the memorial to one of the students next to him, but then decided to refrain lest he be late for his first class.

Turning on his heel, DJ left the gaggle of students behind him and walked quickly through the doors. Taking only a quick detour to his locker, DJ quickly deposited his lunch box before rushing toward his first class: Algebra. How DJ had gotten so lucky as to have a math class first thing in the morning, one could only guess.

Taking his seat just as the late bell rang, DJ had only just taken out his homework when a figure abruptly burst into the classroom. Shifting his eyes from his desk to the tardy newcomer, DJ was not in the least bit surprised to see Chowder doubled over at the front of the classroom and attempting to catch his breath.

"Seriously? That's the second time this week," DJ thought to himself as Chowder all but hobbled over to his seat next to DJ's.

"Maybe you need to set an earlier alarm, Chowder," DJ said, raising an eyebrow toward the boy next to him.

"Not…alarm…" Chowder wheezed out before holding out a finger to indicate he needed a moment.

DJ couldn't help but chuckle at what excuse Chowder would have for being late this morning.

"It was…" Chowder pounded his chest with a fist and cleared his throat before continuing,

"It was only the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed with my own eyes!"

"You're not talking about that trailer for that new 'James Bond' movie, are you? I already told you that it doesn't even look that good."

"No! I was skimming over the newspaper articles this morning, and I found out that Pizza Freek is getting a Thou Art Dead 2 arcade machine!"

DJ immediately shot to attention and focused only on the words delivered from Chowder's mouth.

"Are you serious?! Please tell me you are not joking!"

"There is no way I could ever lie about such a profound moment in history! It's like I have died and gone to heaven!"

DJ was about to utter a response when the duo was shushed by Mr. Heder, their young but surprisingly stern Algebra teacher. DJ and Chowder shared a silent nod to ensure that this conversation was to be continued after class. Such a momentous occasion was not to be taken lightly by anyone cultured enough to have experienced the majesty of Thou Art Dead.

DJ could barely pay attention in class that day, his mind swimming with excitement over the soon to arrive Thou Art Dead 2 arcade machine. Of all of the worshippers of the Thou Art Dead franchise that DJ knew (being only Skull, Chowder, and himself), only Skull had witnessed the mysterious glory of Thou Art Dead's epic sequel.

When the boys had asked about what Skull had experienced when he had interfaced with the awe-inspiring game, Skull had likened it to feeling a state of Nirvana that which no human had ever experienced before. To have the honor of being at the controls was a legendary experience that Skull would have "slain one million Balrogs for". DJ's only wish at the moment was for the clock to be faster.

When the bell rang to signal the end of first period, DJ and Chowder practically leapt from their seats in a blind escapade to reach their lockers. Students and teachers alike were disregarded entirely as the two wove their way between clusters of friends and acquaintances.

When they finally reached their lockers, one right next to each other, DJ asked the question that had been burning at the back of his mind:

"How long?"

"The paper said the game is due to arrive within two weeks" Chowder said.

"Two weeks?!" DJ hung his head in his hands in agony. "We might as well be waiting an eternity."

"I know. I know. I know…" Chowder said while repeatedly banging his head on his locker door.

"Okay, Chowder," DJ said while placing his hand on Chowder's shoulder. "Let's try not to make a scene."

"Too late losers!"

DJ felt a sense of dread creeping up his back as he turned to the source of the new voice. Approaching them from down the hall was none other than Bones. Nobody knew his real name, not even his girlfriend Zee, of which Bones currently had his left arm draped over. Following closely behind them was their gaggle of goths from various grades, each dressed in as much black as was humanly possible, as though it was their duty to negate all light in their immediate vicinity. DJ could already sense the almost vampiric aura the monochromatic group gave off. Behind him, DJ could feel Chowder try to hide behind his locker door as Bones's near malicious sneer grew ever closer.

"Well, well, if it isn't Maryville's favorite couple!" Bones said as he sauntered up to them.

Noticing that Chowder was still trying to hide behind the door to his locker. Bones suddenly thrust his free hand out and pushed the locker door in a quick, violent motion, as a result, the door shot backward straight into Chowder's forehead. Suddenly struck with confusion and pain, Chowder stumbled backward placing one hand on his forehead while the other flailed wildly as he tried to regain his balance.

Losing the battle against gravity, Chowder's feet slipped from underneath him, causing him to fall flat on his butt in a most humiliating manner. To a bystander, the scene would've appeared mildly funny, but to Bones, it may have been the funniest thing he could have ever witnessed. As Zee and the rest of the posse all started chuckling to themselves, Bones couldn't help but add insult to injury.

"Nice reflexes turd-burglar! Coach Harmon might just add you to the team for that one!"

"Hey, leave him alone Bones," DJ said as Chowder stumbled to his feet, rubbing his forehead.

"Oooooo! Look at tough kid over here!" Bones said gesturing to DJ. "All grown up now since he doesn't need a babysitter."

"Yeah how's that going DJ?" Zee said from Bones's side. "You know your mom still calls me about twice a month to remind me on how much of a good babysitter I was? I may as well have received a Nobel Prize from her."

"Whatever Zee," DJ said, trying to add as much bravery into his voice as possible. "Why don't you guys leave us be?"

"Oh, you wanna be left alone, do you?" Bones said leaning forward, causing DJ to lean back in order to avoid the horrible stench of tobacco on his breath. "Bad plan Einstein, unless you want to end up like the empathy brigade out front."

DJ looked at Chowder with an eyebrow raised, Chowder looked back with an equally inquisitive stare, so they both stared back at Bones with an eyebrow raised, all to indicative of their confusion.

"What, you haven't heard the story of the Missing Seven?" Bones said. "Oh, buckle up kiddos, it's story time!"

"C'mon Bones, if you tell these doofuses that story they're only going to wet the bed tonight," Zee said.

"Oh no, Zee," Bones said. "They say knowledge is power, and these losers need all the help they can get."

Their curiosity peaked, DJ and Chowder both gave their attention to Bones as he began.

"About two years ago, there were 7 little dwarf losers, pretty much like you two. Never ended up hanging out with anyone, not even each other. It was pretty pathetic to witness at actually," Bones acknowledged. "But then, fall break came around. And with it the annual Halloween dance. All seven of those losers showed up that night without a date. The dance was lame of course, always has been. But there was one redeeming quality, the Psycho Trail, set up with some of the scariest things to make a sane man go crazy. You walk in, you brave the trail, and if you're lucky, you come out on the other side. But most of the time couples go in there for a little 'private time,'" Bones said as he gazed over at Zee with the sleaziest grin the boys had ever seen.

DJ heard Chowder gag behind him.

"Anyway," Bones said returning the story, "witnesses all say they saw the losers go in at different times, but nobody ever saw them come out. That was the last anyone ever saw of them. Police looked back there for a little while, but there were no traces of any of them. No bodies, no blood, no nothing. And now every year when the dance comes around, they put that stupid little shrine out front, to 'honor their memories'. As if anyone cared about them before," Bones said with a hint of contempt concealed in his voice. "And now, they say the psycho trail is cursed. Anyone that goes in there alone will turn into one of those pictures outside. But you two shouldn't worry, as long as you hold each other's hands and bring extra diapers, you should be fine."

Bones and his group all cracked up again as they pushed past DJ and Chowder. DJ glanced back at Chowder again, his face frozen in a look of horror. Chowder slowly turned to face DJ, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape.

"D-DJ…" Chowder stammered out, "T-t-that night."

"I…. I know" DJ said attempting to control his breathing. "That's the same night as-"

"Constance," Chowder said. He barely whispered the word.

DJ and Chowder stared each other in silence, each wondering if their fears would truly come to be.

DJ lowered his eyes to the floor, trying to organize the multitude of questions flowing through his mind. Struggling for a few moments, DJ finally composed himself and thought of the most important question of all: What were they going to do about it?

Looking up at Chowder again, DJ saw the fear that Chowder had plastered on his face. After a moment more of thinking, DJ made his decision.

"I'm going to call Jenny."

 _A/N: Boom. Cliffhanger (kind of). Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More to come definitely. I had DJ and the gang being twelve years of age at the time of the movie, so they are now fourteen, with Bones and Zee coming in at eighteen. So they are freshmen and seniors respectively. Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	4. Phone Call

_A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to update. My life has been crazy these days. But today is Halloween! So of course I had to upload the next chapter. Enjoy._

 _P.S. I don't own anything._

"Call Jenny?!"

Chowder stared at DJ with his jaw practically touching the floor.

"You actually want to get back into this? I just stopped having nightmares from last time!"

"Chowder, we can't just let this go!" DJ said, "If Constance never truly passed on, we have to finish what we started. More people are going to get hurt if we don't."

"Why does it always have to be us?" Chowder said, throwing his hand up in an overly sarcastic manner. "Why can't someone else deal with it this? Besides, nobody got hurt at all last time. You saw Bones! He's healthy enough to leave an imprint of my face in the locker door, maybe those kids are just fine."

"Chowder, Bones was in that house for a _day_!" DJ said with considerable emphasis. "Maybe he would've starved or something if we hadn't stopped Constance. And these kids have been missing for two years now! I highly doubt that Constance is feeding them and giving them shelter on the psycho trail. If we don't stop her, more people are going to disappear! You want to live with the guilt knowing that we could've saved them?"

"Fine!" Chowder said, tilting his head back in resignation. "Call Jenny, but she's out, I'm out, got it?"

DJ raised his eyebrows at Chowder. "You really think Jenny is going to back out of this?"

Chowder groaned and hit his head against the lockers before realizing his forehead was still tender.

"GAH!" Chowder reeled back in pain, this time clutching his forehead with both hands. "Argh! Just call her already!" Chowder said through gritted teeth.

"I'll call her after school," DJ said, placing a hand on Chowder's shoulder. "But right now, we need to hurry befor-"

DJ was interrupted by the loud reverberation of the school bell through the halls, indicating that the two of them were now late for second period. Turning on his heel and sprinting down the hall with Chowder close behind, DJ hoped that Dr. Schrab would be in a kind enough mood to forgive the two tardy students.

…

Dr. Schrab was having a rough morning. First, he had spilled his coffee all over his new blue button-down shirt and tie. And second, some punk had taken his parking spot in front of the building.

So, when two of his students came through the door two minutes tardy, Dr. Schrab had considered it generous to only give them a two-hour detention after school. Gaining a slight smirk to his features as he watched the boys deflate at the sentence, Dr. Schrab began to feel a bit better.

…

Chowder groaned as he dipped the washcloth into the bucket again. For their detention session, Chowder and DJ had to tidy up Dr. Schrab's classroom, a task that Dr. Schrab seemed all too enthusiastic to assign them. At the moment, Chowder was half-heartedly scrubbing the chalkboard while DJ only paid the smallest amount of attention to the desks he was supposed to be wiping down.

'We haven't talked to Jenny in a while…' DJ thought. 'I wonder how school has been this year. She seemed excited to start high school, but guess anyone would being a student such as herself.' DJ felt his thoughts shift.

'I wonder if she misses us. Does she miss me more than she misses Chowder?' DJ passed a sidelong glance at Chowder who in his unfocused state had only accomplished to smear more chalk all over the board.

Not that Chowder was paying any attention, his mind too had wandered to fiery-haired girl. 'It's been a while since I've seen Jenny. I bet she totally missed me,' Chowder thought as he smiled to himself. 'I'll bet she missed me way more than DJ over there.' Chowder smirked as he glanced back at his friend and opponent in the dormant skirmish for Jenny's affections. 'I'll just have to remind her of my steadfast morality and overwhelming masculinity,' Chowder thought as he slowly nodded his head in agreement with himself.

Dr. Schrab glanced over at Chowder's "handi-work" from his desk. With a sigh, he switched his glance to find that DJ hadn't progressed very far with the desks either. Shaking his head, Dr. Schrab cleared his throat.

"That'll do for today boys. Just try not to be late to class again. Unless of course you two wouldn't mind being my own personal janitors."

DJ and Chowder furiously shook their heads.

"We'll be on time from now on, sir," DJ said grabbing his backpack.

"Scout's honor," Chowder confirmed, already halfway out the door.

"Hmph, good," Dr. Schrab said, but the boys were already gone.

With a sigh, he returned to his work.

Finally free, DJ and Chowder raced to the entrance, both eager to put some distance between themselves and the school. Only once they had cleared the campus and were walking down the street did they slow to a walk. Catching his breath, DJ spoke between breaths, "Let's go to my house, we can call Jenny from there."

Chowder wordlessly nodded, still catching his breath. He had run more in one day than he had in a while, and his body protested the sudden change in routine.

Setting the pace as they walked, DJ thought about what he might say to Jenny. How could he even possibly begin to explain things to her? 'Hey Jenny. How's it going? Remember that possessed house that we fought and almost died in to save the neighborhood? Yeah well I guess it didn't even matter since all it did was move Constance to a different place'. DJ shook his head and tried to think of how to open the conversation.

Finally arriving at DJ's house, DJ unlocked the door with his key and pushed it open. Stepping inside to let Chowder in behind him, DJ slung his backpack off his shoulder onto the couch in the living room. His parents weren't home, which was the usual routine. They usually arrived home from the office a little later than DJ did.

"Come on," DJ said to Chowder as he started up the stairs. Opening his bedroom door, DJ immediately walked over to his bedside phone and picked up the receiver. Holding it in front of him, DJ hesitated, staring at the numbered buttons on the side of the device. Looking over at Chowder who was intently looking back, DJ took a deep breath.

"Here we go," DJ said as he dialed Jenny's number from memory. Putting the receiver to his ear, DJ waited nervously as the periodic tone played softly through the small speaker.

DJ waited for three tones. Then four. Then five. On the sixth tone DJ considered leaving a message when he suddenly heard a distinct click on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" a voice said questioningly.

Even though the voice had only said one word, DJ instantly recognized who had spoken, and throat suddenly became very dry. DJ quickly tried to say something, anything to make him seem as nervous as he felt.

'Come on!' DJ thought to himself. 'Say something! Anything!'

"Uh, hello?" The voice questioned again.

"Hi Jenny," DJ finally croaked through the receiver.

"Huh? I can't hear you."

"Hey…" DJ cleared his throat. "I mean uh, hey Jenny," DJ said, finally bring his voice to a reasonable volume.

"DJ?" The voice responded. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," DJ said shuffling his feet. "How've you been?"

"I've been doing great!" Jenny said, suddenly seeming very excited to hear DJ's voice. "How about you? How's Chowder?"

"I've been keeping up, the both of us have I guess."

Chowder sensed that he was mentioned, and moved forward to take the phone from DJ's hand. DJ however had no intention of relinquishing it, tried to push Chowder away with one hand while talking to Jenny with the other. Chowder refused to back down and soon the boys made quite a ruckus as they scuffled for the receiver. Jenny however was unaware of this as all she heard was muffled thumping and grunting through the static of the phone line.

"Are you still there, DJ?" Jenny asked.

Finally breaking apart, DJ decided compromise was the best answer, and pushed the speaker button on his phone console. The air suddenly filled with static, and Jenny's voice filled the space in DJ's room.

"Hello? I think I might have a bad connection."

"Hey there Jenny" Chowder said, dusting himself off. "I wouldn't worry about that; I'd say our connection is rock solid." DJ rolled his eyes.

"Hi Chowder! Man, how long has it been?"

"Too long I'd say, I'm certainly honestly bored with this life and its lack of adventure." Chowder said with an arrogant, non-caring tone. "But I guess that's to be expected when you've fought a house with a backhoe."

"You fought it with an _excavator_ , genius," DJ said with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, is that right DJ?" Chowder said sticking his hands on his hips and stepping closer to DJ. "I guess I forgot that you were the master of one-on-one combat with a 20-foot monster."

"Actually, I am," DJ said with a not-so-hidden challenge in his voice. He also stepped closer to Chowder. "Blew it up with a stick of dynamite…Pretty clear victor if you ask me."

"That's only because you were hanging from a crane like a weenie," Chowder retorted.

"Hey, don't be jealous if I— "

"OK guys," Jenny's voice said from the dresser. "I get it. And Chowder, you did fight the house with an excavator, but very well I might add."

Chowder grinned widely and puffed his chest out. "Off course I did, and I was just checking DJ's knowledge on construction equipment. A man has got to know these things after all."

DJ was about to make a snide comment when Jenny's voice stopped him again.

"Of course, look guys, while I'm overjoyed to hear your voices again, I can't help but feel you have news for me. What is it?"

Instantly DJ and Chowder felt the familiar sense of dread they had experienced that morning. Jenny seemed to sense this, and her voice grew slightly nervous.

"Guys? What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, DJ sat down and began filling in Jenny on the tale that had been woefully been told to them that morning.


	5. Deja Vu

Chapter 5

 _A/N: Sorry folks! I didn't realize this chapter went haywire on me. Hopefully this clears things up a bit._

"Wow…" Jenny said through the phone as DJ finished recounting the tale. "Do you really think that Constance is responsible for the missing kids?"

"The timing is perfect," DJ said as he sat on his bed. "When we blew her up in the construction zone, her spirit must have moved to inhabit the Psycho Trail."

"The behavior matches too," Jenny continued. "She never attacked anyone if they were in a group, she always waited until they were isolated to strike—"

"Wait, wait, wait…hold on." Chowder commanded. "This doesn't make any sense. How could Constance possess an entire trail? I mean, didn't Skull call her type of spirit a Donut Meticulous or something like that? How can she take over an entire section of a forest?

"Skull called her a _Domus Mactibilis,_ Chowder." Jenny's voice corrected. "The direct translation is Latin for 'deadly house'. And maybe she is only possessing a few trees or something, that would be more than enough to attack and maybe kill those kids."

DJ found himself nodding in agreement, which really did not solidify Jenny's point. Jenny could have told him that chocolate milk came from brown cows and he would have believed her.

"But…" Chowder frowned. He seemed even more confused now that Jenny had spoken. "I thought that Domus Metabolists—Maco—Macin…"

Chowder was quickly becoming flustered as he tried to complete his sentence.

 _"_ _Domus Mactibilis,_ Chower," DJ said.

"Whatever!" Chowder said dismissing the correction. "What I am trying to say is, don't these things have hearts? Where are we going to find a heart in a forest? You can't just turn a leaf or a bush into your next heart."

"I don't know, Chowder." Jenny's voice sounded solemn through the static of the phone, and Chowder instantly felt guilty for putting her down.

"Alright," DJ said as he stood up from his bedside. "If we want to finish Constance off for good, we have to find out more about what she is possessing and where along the trail she actually is."

DJ heard Jenny make a noise of agreement through the speaker.

"DJ is right. We will have a better chance of finishing her off for good if we do some reconnaissance first. Where exactly is the trail?"

"It's behind the school," DJ exclaimed. "It is all undeveloped land behind the building, and the trail is entrance is just to the east of the school."

The room grew quiet as the boys waited for Jenny's response. After a few seconds, Jenny's voice returned with a sense of determination.

"I can be there in half an hour, at the school I mean. Let's meet there and see if we can discover anything along the trail".

DJ found himself nodding in agreement, but then he realized Jenny couldn't see him. Feeling foolish, DJ quickly voiced his agreement.

"Ok. We'll be there."

Hanging up the phone, DJ turned back to Chowder who seemed clearly distraught.

"Half an hour?! Might I remind you that the sun goes down in about 45 minutes DJ?"

"Don't be such a baby Chowder…"

"Why? Because I'm being the logical one here? The only thing worse than trying to find a killer in the forest-who might actually BE the forest I might add-, is trying to find a killer in the forest AT NIGHT!"

"Look if you want to stay here and wuss out, be my guest. It'll just be Jenny and me then."

That seemed to change Chowder's mind rather quickly, as he stood up straight and set his jaw.

"Yeah right! I'm not letting you go alone. Someone is gonna have to protect Jenny, and there is no way it's going to be you!"

DJ rolled his eyes as he moved to the closet to grab his duffel bag.

'Ok,' he thought to himself as he began to make a mental list of items they would need. 'Flashlights, a map, camera…'

Ten minutes later, DJ and Chowder marched down the stairs with their numerous supplies. DJ was relieved that his parents still had not come home yet. He did not feel like making an excuse to his parents as to why he and Chowder were leaving with miscellaneous items.

Stepping across the hallway to the front door, DJ turned the knob and stepped out onto the front porch. Chowder stepped out after him, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

DJ glanced across the street to the empty lot where Constance herself had once sat. Now that they knew she had returned, the empty yard across the street seemed to cast an eerie vibe over DJ's entire being. Shivering slightly, DJ wondered if Constance would somehow recognize them if they saw her. If she remembered who has responsible for destroying her as a house…

DJ was shaken from his thoughts when he heard a sloshing noise behind him. Turning around, he saw that Chowder had equipped himself with the squirt gun he had used against Constance two years ago.

DJ shook his head and frowned at Chowder, who picked up on DJ's disapproval.

"What?"

"Are you really bringing that with you? You know that's going to be next to useless."

"Hey look, it makes me feel better. At least I've got something to defend myself with."

"Chowder the only thing that you're going to do with that is make Constance angry, which is pretty much all we did with those last time."

Chowder grumbled something about forest fires, and DJ sensed he was not going to budge on the matter.

Shaking his head again, DJ turned on his heel and started across his yard to the street with Chowder walking beside him. As they followed the curve of the street, DJ gave one last glance to the empty lot before it disappeared from view. Facing front again, the boys made their way back to the school.

…

Ten minutes later, DJ looked up at the Maryville High School's slogan for the second time that day. Turning back to keep an eye out for Jenny, DJ saw that Chowder had been right, the sun was indeed beginning to dip in the sky. The bottom of the golden sphere just starting to touch the horizon.

It was actually quite beautiful, as the sunset began to cast beautiful colors across the sky. Vibrant purples mixed with subtle reds to paint a beautiful array across the deep blue of the heavens. The colors above never seemed to clash, instead they blended and radiated all from the same golden orb, and DJ understandably became lost in the moment as he admired the natural artwork on the horizon.

DJ began to think he had never seen anything so beautiful, when movement to his left caught his attention. Turning his head to see the source, DJ's breath caught in his throat as he realized how sorely mistaken he had been.

Jenny had finally arrived, and DJ quickly came to the conclusion that Jenny was built for sunsets. The fading light seemed to ignite her hair, which had been tied into a ponytail behind her head. And her features glowed in the sun's rays, making her seem like she was lit from within.

"Hey guys!" She said with a brilliant smile. DJ quickly realized he had been staring, and turned to see Chowder had been as well. In fact, Chowder was still staring, as his eyes boggled and mouth hung slightly agape.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, DJ elbowed Chowder in the ribs before clearing his throat.

"Hey Jenny," he said, waving as he stepped closer. He was about to say more when Chowder shoved him out of the way and hustled over to where Jenny stood.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle!" Chowder said with a raised eyebrow, which DJ guessed was supposed to be charming. Instead it made him look slightly constipated.

"Hey Chowder!" Jenny said with familiarity. "Wow, you've grown since I last saw you! You both have."

"Yeah well," Chowder said, "Must be from all those days at the gym." He began to clench his fists and roll his shoulders. "Gotta pump that iron, after all".

"Yeah right, Chowder," DJ said shouldering up next to him. "You couldn't 'pump iron' if your life depended on it."

Chowder turned to say something, but before he could retort Jenny cut in, "Okay guys, let's discuss this later. So where is this trail?"

DJ scowled at Chowder before turning to the east. Pointing towards a line of trees that ran adjacent to the back of the school, DJ said, "Over there, we'd better get going before we lose all our light".


End file.
